Old photo of Franconia Ridge

[Mongoose]

I posted this photo here years ago and it was determined it was Franconia Ridge. I can't find the old thread though? Does anyone know exactly where this photo was taken from? I'd like to go to the same spot and get a modern day photo. The stone wall might still be there. We're not completely sure who took the original photo, it's been in my family for years.

 

[TDawg]

Cool old photo.

I'd say you need to go poke around Sugar Hill/Franconia area off Rt. 117. Maybe around here?

 

[Raymond]

Try Sugar Hill Road/Route 117.

http://www.bing.com/maps/default.aspx?q=N+44.20793+W+71.78724&mkt=en&FORM=HDRSC4

If you zoom in one click on the Bird’s Eye shot and swing around counter-clockwise, you can sort of approximate the angle.

The lake may line up, if it’s still visible nowadays from the road.

 

[Mongoose]

That lake must be Echo Lake?

 

[Zimmer]

No, that's not any lake that's currently in existence. Echo would be much closer to the Notch. Maybe the picture itself is clearer, but my first guess would be that that's a field. If it is, in fact, water, it must be some sort of a man-made body from the Gale being dammed up somewhere, either from the old iron works or a mill or something. But it looks to me like it's upstream from town, not right in town, which would eliminate the ironworks.

Lovett's field is a possibility (near where Black Brook hits Lafayette brook and 141 branches off), or perhaps the field across from the fire station -- which might well have been flooded at some point in time as it's not much higher than Gale level.

And yes, cool picture. Do you have any more from that era?

ETA: And yes, I would agree that that is from the 117 area of Sugar Hill, probably up in the neighborhood of Polly's.

 

[Jason Berard]

Based on what google earth has to say on this, It looks like somewhere near the junction of Sunset Hill Rd and Lafayette Rd.

 

[Zimmer]

Here's one from a similar angle, though the mountains appear closer in yours:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/c1912-Franc...91952?pt=Art_Photo_Images&hash=item3a5b240b10

 

[Zimmer]

Okay, this is the exact same stretch of road!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Franconia-M...424?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ebc8a2fc8

 

[Raymond]

Same field, same house, same wall. Maybe one of the same guys. Nice!

 

[Mongoose]

Wow, nice find. It's almost eerie how similar it is. Maybe it's a notable spot for some reason.

Okay, this is the exact same stretch of road!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Franconia-M...424?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ebc8a2fc8

 

[TDawg]

Just a guess, but the historic Sunset Hill House Inn and golf course is near the junction of Sunset Hill and Lafayette roads. Maybe they were in for a stay there!

 

[Zimmer]

Maybe, but I think it's more likely a bit down the hill from Sunset Hill House. I would guess that it was taken somewhere between the current Polly's and the current Ledgeland, which is just up the hill a bit above Polly's. If it's clear tomorrow, I'll try to take and post a couple of pictures from a few spots in that area. I'll be nearby.

Mongoose, is the open spot a field?

 

[Zimmer]

Wow, nice find. It's almost eerie how similar it is. Maybe it's a notable spot for some reason.

The trees are even roughly the same size; it would be rather awesome if the dog were in both pictures.

 

[Mongoose]

On the postcard you found the open spot is green, so it must be a field. The original photo is black and white.

Mongoose, is the open spot a field?

 

[Raymond]

Perhaps Mongoose’s family photographer was getting his or her own version of the picture post card image. There are some areas that are so popular that photographers refer to them as ‘‘tripod holes,’’ as though there are holes worn into the ground by countless photographers setting up their tripods in the exact same place to shoot the exact same scene.

I was a member of a camera club years ago, and we once went on a field trip to the Woodstock, Vermont, area to visit some of its tripod holes: the Jenne farm, Gray farm, sugar shack, twin barns, I forget them all. Cloudland Road was the site of many of them. The village of Waits River was another.

Perhaps this scene is — or was — a New Hampshire tripod hole.

 

[Raymond]

I have a copy somewhere of the booklet described here.

 

[Zimmer]

Thanks -- my color is pretty muted on my monitor, so it wasn't clear to me that it was green.

On the postcard you found the open spot is green, so it must be a field. The original photo is black and white.

 

[erugs]

That lake must be Echo Lake?

I thought the "lake" looked like a field. The road makes me think of Streeter Pond Road.

 

[Zimmer]

Here are a few pictures from slightly different vantage points. Tree growth, power lines, and limited time made it a bit difficult to take pictures comparable to the OP's.

From the official viewpoint at Sunset Hill House:

From the parking area across from Polly's; lighting/colors are a bit off; obviously the flatness eliminates this precise spot.

From Lover's Lane. I thought of this area because the steepness of some of the hills on this road is similar to the steepness in the OP's picture.

 

[Mongoose]

That looks close. I wonder if the road still exists? I bet the stone wall is still there.

Here's a more detailed photo of the peaks. If you line up the summit of lafayette with the rock slides below it, you can get the angle from the summit the photo was taken from.

http://i.imgur.com/yAyvh.jpg